Furthermore, proportional representation has been proven to reduce gender inequalities within elected government. Today, women constitute only 11 percent of the House of Representatives and a mere eight percent of the Senate. Systems of proportional representation, however, have been proven to result in greater numbers of elected women. Indeed, this phenomenon has been substantiated in electoral systems around the world: Sweden has a legislature that is 41 percent female, Norway's is 39 percent and South Africa's is 25 percent, dwarfing America's humiliating figures.

Lastly, proportional representation diminishes the force of big money in elections. In American politics today, pressure groups have arisen to positions of dominant importance that allow them inordinate influence and push our democratic institutions far from our ideals. Proportional representation, however, would enable candidates to be elected with a truly representative portion of the votes, and helping them concentrate on their assured constituency rather than on high-priced swing votes and creating a far more democratic method of selecting our representatives within all facets of elected government.

And while education can prove effective in helping the public to understand the benefits of proportional representation, nothing can serve democracy more than a concrete demonstration of proportional representation's superiority over the deficient legacy that winner-take-all democracy has left our nation. I urge you to cast your ballot come Nov. 2. We, too, are members of the Cambridge community.

Patrick C. Toomey is a first-year in Mathews Hall.